Park, Moon pitch political reform, chase swing voters

With 10 days to go before the presidential election, rival campaigns pitched their visions of political reform Sunday to grab undecided voters, who will determine an increasingly tight race.

Opposition candidate Moon Jae-in laid out a plan to form a grand coalition government embracing a wide range of political forces, apparently targeting those who supported independent Ahn Cheol-soo but turned undecided after his withdrawal late last month.

The struggling Democratic United Party nominee has gained momentum on Thursday after Ahn broke his ambiguous silence and joined his ranks.

“Those who have contributed to political reform and power change will participate in the new government and Cabinet,” Moon told a news conference.

He suggested he will open doors to all allied groups such as Ahn followers and the members of the minority Progressive Justice Party.

“We will build a people’s party, together with all who share a common vision on democracy, welfare and peace,” he said. “The DUP and I are ready to give up on all vested rights in order to create a new political order.”

Despite his emphasis on solidarity, analysts raised concerns that Ahn’s support may have been too late to win back the disappointed moderate-liberal voters.

“Ahn’s pledge to back Moon resulted in a slight fall in Park’s polls, not in the rise of Moon’s,” said Lee Cheol-hee, director of the Dumun Political Strategy Institute.

“The former Ahn supporters who swung to Park tend to turn indecisive again, instead of joining the Moon-Ahn alliance.”

While skepticism remains on the effect of their merger, Moon and Ahn paced busily to boost the voter turnout, which is expected to be one of the top variables for the liberal camp.

They also concentrated their campaigns in Seoul, as well as the southern city of Busan, which is the most progressive-inclined in the conservative Yeongnam region.

Ahn hit the campaign trail to rally support for Moon in Suwon on Sunday.

“If there are people who won’t vote because I dropped out of the race, please tell them to cast their ballots,” Ahn said.